Expressing it Out
by AnimangaxKoneko
Summary: Asou and Mikoto were both school athletes in the anime series. However, just because they can excel in sports, does not mean they have the courage to express their feelings toward each another!
1. A Mobile Promise

Expressing it Out

Chapter 1: A Mobile Promise

Mikoto Suou collapsed onto her bed. She was exhausted from a whole day of kenpo practice. Feeling the cool breeze from the open window, Mikoto lied there, thinking of all the methods she could do to improve her kenpo skills.

Oh man, Mikoto thought, if I take another day of kenpo practice, I'll be completely wiped out!

Suddenly, as she was thinking about how to ameliorate her kenpo skills to, her cell phone rang.

"Hello? This is Mikoto Suou speaking!" Mikoto yawned, as she picked up the phone.

"Hey, this is Hiroyoshi Asou, sorry for calling on such short notice." From the other line came a familiar boy's voice.

Mikoto sat up in surprise, "Oh hey Asou, what's up?"

A lot of guys called her about school activities, but this was the first time Asou ever called her. Surely everyone knows that there was some connection between Mikoto and Asou in school, but both were rarely caught speaking to each other.

"Umm…I was wondering if you are available today. You know, maybe we could go out and hang around the arcade?"

"Oh sure…um…" Mikoto panicked, how would Eri or Tenma solve this kind of problem? Well, if they were here, they probably wouldn't keep quiet about this for long!

"Is there a problem?" Asou asked, "We can plan it some other time if you're busy."

"Huh? Oh no! It's nothing like that!" Mikoto quickly answered, "So at what time do you want to meet?"

"How about I pick you up at around three in the afternoon?" Asou randomly suggested.

"All right, see you at three then!" Mikoto agreed and hung up the phone. She looked at the clock; it was one o' clock in the afternoon She turned off her cell phone and sighed.

I better sleep for awhile, Mikoto thought, I don't want to collapse while being with Asou!

Mikoto fell onto the bed on her back, and fell asleep. The cool breeze from the fan brushed over her bed, and she slowly began forgetting about her afternoon plans with Asou.

---

As Mikoto slept soundly, completely unaware of the time, Asou arrived at Mikoto's front door and rang the doorbell.

"Suou, are you home?" Asou called loudly.

Nobody answered the door, the house was dark and it looked like nobody was home.

Is she out? Asou wondered, maybe she's not home, her cell phone's off too. Determined to ring the doorbell a sixth time, Asou finally gave up and left the house. I'll keep in touch with her later or maybe some other time.

---

A couple of hours later, Mikoto finally woke up. She yawned and stretched as she looked at her clock. What! It's this late already? Asou must be really mad at me for ditching him! Mikoto panicked--this was the first time Asou asked her out, and she had completely forgotten about the time.

Mikoto picked up her cell phone, turned the power on, and started to dial Asou's number. I think I better call him and apologize! The line rang five times already, and no one picked up. Is he angry with me? If he's not at home, he must have his cell phone with him! Mikoto grew worried, maybe I'll ask him in school tomorrow…

---

After one more day, Monday finally came. During lunch, Mikoto strolled down the halls of Yagami High School toward her classroom.

Is he in our classroom? I wonder if he's alone…will he listen to what I have to say? Oh man! I'm really nervous! This is one of those rare times I'm personally approaching a guy! Mikoto nervously walked to the door and slid it open. She walked into the room and hoped to see Asou. The room was filled with many people, students from both C and D classes were in there chatting about miscellaneous topics.

When Mikoto finally spotted Asou, she noticed that five of his friends were surrounding him. The boys were jabbering loudly about the upcoming basketball match, in which Asou will be starring in as a main player.

That's right, the basketball match is almost coming up! Asou looks busy, I guess I better not disturb his conversation. After realizing that she had no chance to talk to Asou, she ran out of the room, straight for the rooftop for lunch.

---

"What's wrong, Mikoto? You're face looks so gloomy! Why the long face?" Tenma cheerfully asked.

"Don't mind her, Tenma, she probably had a lovers' quarrel with Asou!" Eri scoffed, as she quietly sipped her tea.

"Eri! I can't have a lovers' quarrel without a boyfriend! Just what do you think I am? Someone who became lovesick?" Mikoto felt pressured, is her face really that obvious? Eri and Tenma know me too well!

"Your face said it all, Mikoto." Akira calmly stated. "We all know that you're troubled, want to share it with us?"

"Uh, no thanks, Akira! I think I'll solve this problem on my own! It's not that big actually...not worth talking about!" Mikoto replied sheepishly. I better not let those three know about it, who knows what they might do with the information?

---

After school that evening, Mikoto finished another four hours of kenpo practice. She returned to her room and turned on her cell phone. Determined to contact Asou again, she dialed his number and hoped someone would pick up.

"Hello? This is Hiroyoshi Asou."

"Hey Asou, this is Mikoto!"

"Oh hi, what's up?"

"Um…nothing much, I just called to apologize! I'm such a sleepyhead! I slept through the time you were supposed to be here!" Mikoto felt embarrassed, but she was relieved when she heard Asou's calm voice.

"Oh, you were sleeping? I thought you went out!" Asou replied.

"I rang the doorbell several times, the house was dark. I never realized that you were at home."

"Oh, sorry, I'm a really heavy sleeper, I was really tired, so I didn't hear the doorbell. I'm really sorry for troubling you!" Mikoto felt even more embarrassed as she talked. Now he must think I'm some sleepyhead or something!

Asou suddenly laughed, "It's ok, Suou! I understand how an athlete needs rest! You should've told me when we were on the phone!""However, I never expected you to be such a heavy sleeper though!"

"Yeah, well, you know, **tired **athletes need their rest!" Mikoto laughed.

"Hey,by the way Suou, would you like to come to the boys' basketball game at school next Friday? I'll be playing in the match and it would be great if you can come and watch!" Asou suddenly said.

"Sure! I promise this time I won't sleep through the match!" Mikoto replied. She felt happy that Asou invited her again; it was as if he was giving her a second chance to improve their slow relationship.

"Okay, Suou, then it's a promise!"

* * *

(End of Chapter 1) Please post a review if possible, and Chapter 2: The Basketball Match will be posted soon! 

By the way this is my very first time writing a fanfic! So please review! Hope you're enjoying it!


	2. The Basketball Match

Expressing it Out

Chapter 2: The Basketball Match

As a couple more days passed on, Thursday finally came, and Mikoto was even more psyched for Friday.

"Hey, Mikoto!" Tenma suddenly said, as Mikoto and her three friends were walking home from school , "Are you going to the basketball match tomorrow at four o' clock?"

"Yeah, Mikoto! You must go! Asou's going to be participating in it!" Eri snickered, noticing Mikoto's beet-red face. She had always loved teasing Mikoto, especially about her weak spot- love.

"I'm pretty interested in basketball," Mikoto lied, "So I might as well go and see for myself." She was still reluctant to tell her friends about her secret relationship with Asou. "By the way, are you three going too?" Mikoto added, hoping to change the subject about Asou. It's been nearly a week since their last conversation on the cellphone, even though they never talk at school, Asou was almost always on Mikoto's mind.

"I think we should go as well! After all, it is our school team's match!" Tenma suggested cheerfully with her world-famous optimism and a huge smile.

"Sure, I bet Mikoto would want a little support for cheering on Asou anyway!" Eri laughed, twirling one of her blonde ponytails around her finger.

"N-no! What are you saying, Eri! I'm just interested in the sport!" Mikoto sputtered, as she gradually turned red again.

"All right then, how about we meet tomorrow in front of the school at three forty-five in the afternoon?" Tenma inquired.

Everyone agreed and finally stopped wondering about Friday and Asou.

Mikoto heaved a sigh of relief and continued to look forward to Friday.

That night, Mikoto thought of nothing but the basketball match.

I guess it's not too bad that those three are going. I mean, it's not like I'm actually going to cheer for him out loud at the top of my lungs! Mikoto half-heartedly thought. She didn't have time to worry about her friends finding out about Asou, her mind was way too eager for the following day to come.

The next day finally came, as planned, Mikoto headed for school as three forty-five drew closer. When she arrived at the school gate, she met up with Eri, Tenma, and Akira, and they were ready to watch the game.

---

Meanwhile down at the basketball courts, Asou was practicing basketball with his teammates, hoping to brush up some last minute moves before the start of the game.

"Hey Asou! We're counting on you today! With you on our team, the victory is ours for sure!" A teammate yelled and clapped Asou on the back as he passed by.

Asou felt confident. He knew Mikoto would be at the match, watching his team (or him) win the match. In his head, he pictures Mikoto watching his game, smiling whenever he scores, and clapping her hands with joy when the match was over because of his team's victory.

"Asou! Pass the ball! You better not lose concentration during the actual match!" The coach shouted as he noticed Asou's absentmindedness.

"All right, coach!" Asou called back, I better stay focus on basketball! If I don't, I'll be humiliated, even in front of Suou!"

The clock finally struck four, and the match began. Mikoto and her friends already found front seats on the blacktop, nearest to the basketball court.

"KY-AA! It's Asou! Look, he's right over there!" A huge group of girls screamed when they spotted Asou.

Mikoto's heart lurched as she heard the shrieks. It made her eyes attempt to see where Asou was, and her mind wonder why the girls spotted him quicker than she did.

When she finally saw Asou, he had already scored two points, and was attempting to score again. She noticed whenever he had his hands on the ball, his fans would always shriek "KY-AA! Asou's so cool!"

Whoa, Mikoto thought, I never knew Asou was THAT popular with the girls in our school! Her heart flinched again, as she imagined all those rivals in love awaiting her.

---

As Mikoto sat at the front lines of the audience, Asou was on the court, dribbling the ball down to the opponent's net. As he dodged the opponents who were in his way, his mind was switched from the basketball game to Mikoto. His eyes itched to turn to the crowd and find her, but his body forced him to concentrate on winning the match.

"KY-AAA! Asou scored again! Everyone look!" As the girls shrieked again, Mikoto was at her limit. She could not stand the shrieking and screaming about Asou anymore.

"I'm going to the restroom for a bit! I'll be right back!" Mikoto told Akira, and stood up to walk toward the school building.

However, right at that moment when Mikoto stood up, Asou saw her at the corner of his eye. His head whipped around and he immediately heard a bunch of girls scream.

"Ohmigosh! Asou's looking over at the audience! Asou! Look over here! KY-AA!" The girls were hysterical and loud; however, Asou ignored them and looked into Mikoto's direction.

"ASOU! The ball's passed to you! GET IT!" A shout suddenly rang in, but it was too late. Asou's reaction was too slow, and the ball was flying toward the speculators.

"Mikoto! The ball's headed toward you! Watch out!" Tenma wailed.

"Huh?" Mikoto's head snapped back. Confused about what was happening to her, Mikoto ended up tripping over the ball. After landing on the ground with her ankle crashed onto the blacktop, she realized how clumsy she had been.

I'm such an idiot, Mikoto thought to herself, I just humiliated myself in front of Asou, wherever he is! If I was paying attention, I could have at least prevented myself from falling down! Her heart dropped like a rock, and her leg's pain increased. Her mind was brimming with thoughts about her carelessness and Asou.

"Mikoto, Mikoto, MIKOTO!" It was until Mikoto snapped out of her mental state that she noticed the school nurse had been calling her name continuously.

"What? Oh, my ankle? It's nothing! It's probably just a scratch!" Mikoto gave a little laugh and stood up.

"Oww! Ugh!" Mikoto groaned and fell back down. The pain was actually too much for her, she knew she needed to rest.

"Come on, Mikoto, we're heading to my office, you need to rest that ankle of yours!" The nurse gently ordered. She took Mikoto by the arm, and started off toward the school building.

---

Meanwhile after Mikoto's accident, Asou stared wide-eyed at the crowd. His mind was panicking, his feet were tempted to follow Mikoto to the school building, but a part of him forced him to stay put. His mind was debating whether or not to follow, until some of his teammates ran up to him and started yelling.

"Asou! I told you to get the ball! Look! The other team is catching up!" "What's wrong with you?" "You've never been so absentminded before! Please focus on the game!" A bunch of questions flew out at Asou, but he stayed quiet and struggled to ignore the noise around him.

I need to find Suou, it's probably my fault that she got hurt! I'll just have to leave the game up to these guys, if that's possible.

When Asou finally came to a conclusion, he decided that he was going to go see Mikoto, even if it meant risking a basketball match.

"I'm sorry you guys, can I excuse myself for a moment?" Asou asked, and broke through the ring of teammates around him. After leaving his awed teammates behind, he started across the blacktop, toward the school building.

* * *

(End of Chapter 2) Please post a review if possible, and Chapter 3: Promise to Victory will be coming soon! 


	3. A Promise to Victory

Expressing it Out

Chapter 3: A Promise to Victory

_I'm going to see Suou. I want to see Suou. I hope she's all right!_ All these thoughts flew through Asou's mind as he walked pass the classrooms, toward the nurse's office.

His heart pounding frantically as he wondered how he was going to face Mikoto. It was _his_ fault that she was hurt. The cause of her injury was _him_. Because _he_ didn't catch the ball that was passed to him, Suou got hurt. All these one-sided thoughts raced through Asou's mind, as he worried more and more about what happened earlier on the blacktop.

---

Meanwhile in the nurse's office, Mikoto sat in a chair, waiting for the nurse to finish treating her ankle.

"All right, Mikoto! The damage on your ankle is not too serious, but you must be careful from now on, ok?" The nurse finally confirmed with a smile, "Oh yes, and try to rest your leg for several days before getting involved in more physical acitivites!"

"I will, thanks a lot for your help! I think I'll rest here for a while!" Mikoto, suggested with a sigh a relief. _Plus, I also need to sort out my thoughts! The accident happened too quickly!_

"Okay, then rest well! However, I can't stay because I need to return to the basketball match now, in case there is another student who's hurt!" After giving Mikoto another smile, the nurse left the office and started off through the corridor.

---

After hearing the sound of the nurse's footsteps fade, Asou quietly walked to the door of the nurse's office. He silently slid open the door and found Mikoto with her back turned toward the door. She was looking out the window, down into the basketball court.

"Hey, Suou." He greeted her an embarassed smile.

Mikoto jumped and turned around, there stood Asou, right in the very same room with her.

"Oh! Hey! Wait, why are you here? You're supposed to be out there playing basketball!" Mikoto exclaimed with a shocked look on her face. Deep down in her heart however, she was filled with joy that Asou came to visit her.

"Listen, Suou, I'm really sorry about your ankle. It was my fault because I didn't paying attention to the game." Asou nervously confessed. Half of him was relieved because he apologized personally, but the other half of him was still furious with himself.

"My ankle's injury? Oh no, that wasn't anyone's fault! It was because I was dazing off when the ball came toward me. Stupid me, and I even tripped over it." Mikoto, whose face started to redden, explained.

Oh shoot, what have I done now? Asou thought he was at fault that I got hurt, so he skipped the other half of the game to see me? I shouldn't have made such a scene on the blacktop! Mikoto started blaming herself again, a very unhappy look appeared on her face.

"What's wrong, Suou? You seem really upset, does your ankle hurt that much?" Asou questioned, the rattled smile was gone, and was replaced with a worried look.

"No, I'm just really mad at myself. I made such a scene out there and I'm making you skip the match! I just create one problem after the other for everyone!" Mikoto burst out, her red face was flushed, and she looked as if she was going to cry.

_What should I do? Should I hold her hand? How can I comfort her?_ Asou's mind started to panick. Probably one of the worst things to do during a relationship with a girl was to make her cry.

"It's all right, Suou, I chose to come here myself, so it has nothing to do with you!" Asou said firmly, hoping that would comfort Mikoto a bit.

---

During this time, back on the basketball court…

"WE WANT ASOU! WHERE IS ASOU! BRING HIM OUT!" The group of girls who were formerly screaming for Asou started protesting to see him.

"Hey, Imadori, where's Asou?" The coach yelled at an orange-haired boy near him.

"Huh? I don't know, I heard from one of the players that he went off toward the school building or something." Imadori replied and yawned.

"What? That can't be ! Asou loves basketball and he would play his best to win! I don't understand what's taking him so long!" The coach exclaimed with uncertainty in his voice.

Hearing the conversation between the coach and Imadori, Eri got up from where she was sitting and said with a wink, "C'mon Tenma, Akira, let's go see how Mikoto's doing."

---

Back in the nurse's office, Mikoto's face was still red, and her head hung down low. Her eyes were trying hard to avoid Asou, who was sitting less than two feet away from her.

"How about this, Suou, I'll go win that game, and if I win, you've got to stop blaming youself." Asou suggested. His determination to win the game finally came back, and his feelings for Mikoto were jumbled up with it.

"I promise you that I'll win the game, ok? So just believe me!" Asou reassured her with a quiet but confident tone of voice.

Mikoto gave him a slight nod, and Asou stood up from his chair.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps in the corridor, and he quickly slipped out of the room.

---

Shortly after Asou's departure, Tenma, Eri, and Akira headed into the office. They spotted Mikoto sitting in her chair, the beet-red color on her face gradually drained away, and she was looking out the window at the blacktop.

"Oi! Mikoto! We're here to see you! Is your ankle okay?" Tenma asked brightly with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey guys, I'm fine, I just need to rest this foot for several days!" Mikoto answered, happy to see her friends again.

"That's good to hear! By the way, Mikoto did Asou drop in some time ago?" Eri was too eager to ask this question, and before Tenma or Akira could interrogate Mikoto further, she asked first.

"Oh yeah, he just apologized to me for some reason. He thought I got hurt because of him." Mikoto said, "However, I just told him that it was my own carelessness."

"So you guys were together! I wonder what will happen if the whole school knew about this!" Tenma squealed, her pigtails started twitching as she grew really excited.

"Oh no, don't make that rumor go any further than it already is!" Mikoto pleaded with a panicked voice.

However, before she could protest any more to what Tenma said, she heard shrieks and shouts from the basketball court. A huge "ASOU! HE WON! WE WON! ASOU RETURNED AND WE WON! KYAA!" was heard. Yagami High School was certain to be the victor of the basketball match.

"_I promise you that I'll win the game, ok? So just believe me!" _Her mind flashed back to when Asou made his promise, and her heart soared when she looked through the window. There Asou stood with his teammates, shaking hands with each player on the rival team.

"Cool! We won! Thanks to Asou's return, I bet!" Eri suddenly said, looking over at Mikoto.

"That's great! He kept his promise!" Mikoto suddenly laughed out loud. After realizing what she just said, she turned deep red again.

"What promise, Mikoto? Something with Asou, maybe?" Tenma immediately asked, and she poked Mikoto playfully.

"D-did I say that out loud? Oh sorry, I just thinking of something!" Mikoto nervously stuttered.

"Hmm...a promise with Asou, I bet that's what you meant! You guys are progressing pretty fast aren't you?" Eri snickered as she gleefully slapped Mikoto on the back.

"Ow! No, I mean…yes…please don't spread it around though!" Mikoto begged. Unwillingly, she gave in to Eri and Tenma's questioning. _I'm so weak-willed, but I shouldn't hide it forever. They are my best friends after all!_

"All right, you finally admitted it, Mikoto!" Tenma squealed excitedly, "Now go congratulate him, Miko-chaan!"

"I'll go later, I can't walk properly with ankle of mine!" Mikoto said as she pointed to her bandaged foot.

She looked over at the window and opened it. Asou noticed her head poking out of the building and jogged closer to it.

"Hey, Suou! I kept my promise! So continue to believe in me from now on, ok?" Asou said, and suddenly, he shot her a smile.

"Okay! I will! You better win the other matches this year then!" Mikoto called back and laughed back to him.

It was great that their relationship was progressing faster, even if they have to

act as if nothing's happening between them in school. Mikoto smiled again and turned her head back to face her friends.

"Oh no, Mikoto! You beat us in TWO things now! Love and P.E.!" Tenma pouted.

"Yeah I know! I always thought you were clumsy with love too!" Eri whined, her long pigtails swayed back and forth as she nodded her head in agreement with Tenma.

Mikoto just laughed and said, "Well, I guess I do, Tenma! You three will just have to catch up to me someday then, and I mean in BOTH P.E. and love too!"

* * *

(End of Chapter 3) This is probably the final chapter of "Expressing It Out" ) Hope you enjoyed it and please review if possible! Thanks for reading! 


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